Science Through Our Lives (STOL) is a project that was born on September 2011 inside a group of three CBMA investigators aware of the importance/commitment of science communication in the present society. STOL was idealized as a cultural, scientific and educational project with a privileged place at the interfaces: university - society and education - research.At presente STOL is coordinated by Alexandra Nobre (CBMA member) and has several ongoing projects and partnerships with public and private institutions. In what concerns to STOL actions, STOL: develops activities in various areas such as education and training, promotes and participates in scientific/ cultural events, gets involved in the publication and dissemination of academic and science communication products, provides several services such as technical and scientific advice, disseminates research projects and researchers (in particular from CBMA) and has a Science Communication page in the web.

Projects and Activities

PubhD UMinho ((pub + PhD) - A glass full of Science consists of individual presentation of doctoral projects. In the second season, after summer, we changed the format into two PhD projects presentation per session (previously were three).The participants have a white board, a pen and 10 minutes to talk about their research projects, followed by 20 minutes in which the assistance can ask questions. To approach science to the citizens and to raise other research perspectives that can open new opportunities for scientific investigation, are the great challenges of this initiative.The idea began in a pub, in Nottingham, in 2014 and reached Portugal (Lisbon) in 2015. PubhD UMinho is a monthly event organized by STOL since January 2016 and will run across alternately two cities in the north of Portugal - Guimarães and Braga.

The city of Braga welcomed the twelfth session of PubhD UMinho, at Bar Sé la Vie, on 26th of January.In this session Inês Coelho and Rita Carneiro were with us to talk about "author copyright" and "recycling in building construction", respectively.

Marco Freitas, collaborator STOL has been discussing the topics evolution, continental drift, tectonic plates, fossils ... with the utents of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Vizela where he works. STOL enabled the workshop by lending various fossils that illustrated some of the ideas addressed.

The Educational Project "(Vi)ver Mais:The reality silenced by dependency" is linked to the curriculum internship of Elisabete Martins in the scope of the Master in Education - Specialization in Adult Education and Community Intervention, under the supervision of Clara Costa Oliveira, developed at "Viver Mais" - Therapeutic Community - Braga (dependences treatment).

The present project aims at promoting the personal and social development of the community members, through a set of interest areas chosen by them. It is in the context of one of these areas - "The Science of our life" that the partnership with STOL - Science Through Our Lives (Alexandra Nobre) takes place. It´s aou goal to demystify the concept of Science and to approach the target public through various activities that meet their needs and curiosities. Photos of Elisabete Martins.

Session 3 - 18/1/2017 - "Effect of drugs on our body - tobacco ". A small exhibition was held with images allusive to the components of tobacco, its origin (tobacco plant) and the consequences that tobacco consumption has on our body. The audience was invited to analyze the available materials (several images, the roll up "Homo numericus - Addicts and addictions", a giant model of a cigarette, ...) and, based on the information present in them, followed a group discussion that generated great enthusiasm.

Session 4 - 25/1/2017 - "Effect of drugs on our body - cocaine, heroin and hashish”. Similar to what happened in the previous session, a set of images was exposed in the therapy room. These were related to: the risks of reusing syringes, the effects and consequences of prolonged drug use, the global production and marketing drug routes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)) of syringe needles, a blood vessel, lemon peel and a cigarette filter, the latter two used for the consumption of heroin were also shown. In the course of the session, an activity was carried out which aimed at associating the drugs mentioned above to their geographic area of origin, to the plant they come from, to the different forms of consumption and to their appearance / mode of presentation. The session was concluded with a discussion on the effects and consequences that the consumption of each of these drugs can cause in the human body.

The school EB 2/3 Trigal de Santa Maria - Tadim houses the exhibition “Stitch by stitch the Science fills the Space" on the relation between biological life forms, mathematics and crochet. and, in parallel, the students from 5th grade were given a lecture entitled “Corals and Crochet” by Alexandra Nobre (17/1/17).